Transaction processor Lending Tools on Monday told Credit Union Times in an exclusive interview that it had signed a “significant” number of corporate credit unions to “binding agreements.”
“There is a pilgrimage of corporates coming our way because they see that with our platform, smaller corporates can find their way to survival,” said the Wichita, Kan.-based company's CEO, Eric Goering.
Goering declined to comment on whether or not Lending Tools – which has been identified by sources as a bidder for U.S. Central, although neither it nor NCUA confirmed that – had lost in the biddingprocess.
The other bidder – again unconfirmed by the NCUA or the company – was said to be Fiserv Inc.
Goering also declined to put a specific number on how many corporates had signed with Lending Tools.
“What we do is payments, this is what we are good at,” added Goering, by way of explaining why Lending Tools appears to have enjoyed a significant bulge of new business. “We are giving what amounts to a new lease on life to regional corporates.”
Earlier, an attempt by a group of corporate credit unions to form a new corporate to take over U.S. Central's payments business failed, apparently due to inability to raise sufficient capital.
NCUA also announced it was opening the bidding for U.S. Central, or perhaps portions thereof, to non-credit union entities, apparently due to a non-response from credit unions.
The NCUA on Monday declined to comment on well-sourced rumors that Brookfield, Wis., based Fiserv had emerged as the winning bidder for U.S. Central.
Fiserv, too, had not responded to a request for comment.
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